New Training: Understand MPLS Foundations

In this 9-video skill, CBT Nuggets trainer Knox Hutchinson explores how MPLS and the label signaling protocols really work. Watch this new Juniper training.

Watch the full course: Service Provider Routing and Switching Specialist

This training includes:

• 9 videos

• 1 hour of training

You’ll learn these topics in this skill:

• Introducing MPLS

• The Benefits of MPLS

• The Concept of Pseudowires

• MPLS Packet Flows and Key Terms

• A Closer Look at the Penultimate Hop

• Enabling MPLS on Junos

• Configure a Static LSP

• What Signaling Protocols Do

• Summarizing MPLS

Can MPLS Supercharge Your Network Performance?

MPLS stands for multi-protocol label switching. It's a technology primarily used in telecommunication networks. Why, though?

MPLS is fast. Unlike traditional forms of software-based routing, the MPLS protocol doesn't need to perform complex lookups on network routing tables. Instead, short labels are used to identify transport routes. That means MPLS can skip using routing table lookups altogether.

That also means that MPLS can be more reliable. Because MPLS doesn't use routing tables, there's a reduced likelihood of data being sent to the wrong place or having to traverse unneeded paths.

This is why MPLS has become the go-to standard for telecommunication environments. The speed and reliability of using MPLS are critical for mechanisms that need fast data transport such as video conferencing applications or VPN connections. It doesn't hurt that MPLS can be used with a variety of networking technologies such as Ethernet or PPP, too. That makes MPLS more robust than things like TCP/IP.